Three things learnt from Nottingham Forest victory over Bournemouth

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Championship outfit Nottingham Forest showcased their new-look squad in their final friendly of pre-season and the Reds’ 2-0 City Ground victory over Premier League side Bournemouth left supporters extremely excited for the season ahead.

Goals from Tendayi Darikwa and Gil Dias handed Aitor Karanka’s team the victory and ensured that they will travel to Bristol City for next week’s curtain raiser in good spirits.

After some miserable times in recent years on Trentside there is real optimism that Spanish boss Karanka is the manager to finally end such a barren period in the club’s history and return the Reds to the Premier League.

The Championship is a demanding league that boasts a lot of quality these days, but after spending excessively this summer it is quite clear that the club’s hierarchy and management team have ambitious plans to progress.

Saturday’s win over Eddie Howe’s top-flight team was a solid run out for the Reds but they will be under no illusions that the hard work starts next weekend when the league campaign gets underway.

Following Forest’s victory, we looked at three things we learned from the Reds’ final pre-season friendly…

Michael Dawson is a solid addition for Forest

Some people had questioned Forest’s decision to sign 34-year-old Hull City man Dawson, but on his showing in the game against Bournemouth he looks like being a quality piece of business for the club.

For some years now the Reds have lacked a proper leader in their back four and it is already abundantly clear that the man capped four times by England will be a key player for Aitor Karanka’s team next year.

Dawson was handed the captain’s armband in this final friendly and his partnership at the heart of the Forest back four with Danny Fox looks like being the pairing that will be selected when Karanka names his team for next week’s opening fixture.

Forest’s foreign imports look ready for the Championship

Eyebrows were raised when Forest secured the services of João Carvalho, Diogo Gonçalves and Gil Dias during the summer, not least because very few supporters will have heard of the trio prior to their arrival at the City Ground.

The Reds have smashed their previous transfer record to sign Carvalho, whilst Gonçalves and Dias have both arrived on initial loan spells at the club.

All three have performed incredibly well during pre-season and Dias in particular looks capable of the sublime, as was evident with his stunning goal in the 2-0 win on Saturday.

The Forest hierarchy are keen to build bridges

Under the ownership of Fawaz Al-Hasawi, Nottingham Forest wandered dangerously close to falling into the abyss, amid a series of winding-up orders and baffling decisions made by the Kuwaiti businessman.

Now under Greek ownership, the club is run properly and with chairman Nicholas Randall QC in charge of overseeing the day-to-day running of Forest, there is a real sense that the good times aren’t too far away from making a welcome return.

Evidence of progress has been obvious this summer and the 20,000 season tickets which have been sold offers a firm indication that the fans are back on board with the current board of directors.

The City Ground looked sparkling as Bournemouth arrived in town. During the summer Forest have placed a new banner across the top of the Brian Clough Stand, whilst general maintenance has taken place in and around the stadium.